RURAL LIFE IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY 



Merino blood and decided that what Mr. Atwood had 

 developed most nearly represented his ideal, and he 

 took several head with him to northern Vermont. 

 Within the next twenty years this Hammond strain of 

 Merinos became world-renowned and brought almost 

 fabulous prices for those times. For instance, for one 

 famous ram of the Atwood strain Mr. Hammond re- 

 fused five thousand dollars, saying that he "could not 

 afford to sell his best until he was ready to go out of the 

 business of breeding." 



Beginning with the peace of Ghent in 1815, at the 

 close of the second war with England, the tariff on wool 

 having been removed, there was a decline in the fine 

 wool industry until about 1825. This will account in 

 part for the failure to develop more generally the 

 Merino breed in New England during the first twenty 

 years following their introduction. Their impress, 

 however, was fixed on a few flocks, and when conditions 

 again became favorable for the development of woolen 

 manufactures, the Merino type of sheep was easily re- 

 established. Beginning about 1825, there was a period 

 of some twenty years when the fine wool industry of 

 western Connecticut attained a high degree of develop- 

 ment. Dairying had not been introduced beyond the 

 needs of the farmer's family, as there were very few 

 cities to demand dairy products; but for a good grade 

 of wool, both for household manufacture and for the 



